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KEY FOCUS AREAS

REPORT ON THE ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CRIMINAL LAW (SEXUAL OFFENCES AND RELATED MATTERS) AMENDMENT ACT 32 OF 2007 Presentation: Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services September 2014.

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KEY FOCUS AREAS

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  1. REPORT ON THE ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CRIMINAL LAW (SEXUAL OFFENCES AND RELATED MATTERS) AMENDMENT ACT 32 OF 2007 Presentation: Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services September 2014 Annual Consolidated Inter-sectoral Report on the Management of Sexual Offences: Presentation to IMC 14 Nov 2013

  2. KEY FOCUS AREAS • 1. Purpose of the presentation; • 2. General Overview; • 3. Governance structures; • 4. Achievements on Key Priority Areas • 4.1 Legal Framework on Sexual Offences; • 4.2 Human and Physical Resources; • 4.3 Capacity Building: Training and Development; • 4.4 Public Education and Communication; • 4.5 Monitoring and Evaluation; and • 4.6 Research Interventions • Limitations • Way forward/ Conclusion

  3. Purpose of the Presentation • Present the Annual Consolidated Inter-sectoral Report on the Implementation of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007 (the Act) covering the period January 2012 – March 2013. • Section 65 (3) of the Act requires the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development (now Minister of Justice and Correctional Services) to table annual reports on the implementation of the Act compiled by each of the reporting departments; • This report represents the consolidated intersectoral performance in the implementation of the Act extracted from the individual annual reports received from the reporting Departments/ institution

  4. GENERAL OVERVIEW • The Reporting departments/institutions are the Departments of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD), Correctional Services (DCS); Health (DOH); Social Development (DSD), as well as the South African Police Services (SAPS) and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). • The Co-opted departments/institutions are: the Departments of Women, Children and People with Disabilities (now Department of Women), Basic Education (DBE), Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), and the Legal Aid South Africa ( Legal Aid SA)

  5. GENERAL OVERVIEW • This report was taken through an intersectoral consultative process, and was adopted by the following governance structures: • National Operational Intersectoral Committee on Sexual Offences • JCPS Cluster Developmental Committee • Directors-General Inter-sectoral Committee on the Management of Sexual Offences (DG-ISC SO) represented by all the heads of the reporting Departments/ institutions, and chaired by the DG: DoJ&CD; • JCPS Inter-Ministerial Committee • All these structures have the representation of the reporting Departments/ institutions

  6. GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES

  7. GENERAL OVERVIEW • The Preamble and Objectives of the Act promote the provision of responsive, preventative and supportive mechanisms to address the sexual violence by enumerating protective mechanisms: • Providing for specialized services to certain victims of sexual violence; • Eliminating secondary traumatization of victims of sexual violence; • Entrenching inter-sectoral response to sexual violence • Removing gender specificity of rape • Introducing new specific crimes, particularly crimes against children and persons with mental disabilities • This Report is also informed by the applicable International and Regional Protocols and other relevant legislation and national policies.

  8. PROGRESS ON KEY PRIORITY AREAS The Report is segmented into the following Key Priority Areas: • Legal Framework on Sexual Offences • Human and Physical Resources; • Capacity Building: Training and Development; • Public Education and Communication; • Monitoring and Evaluation; and • Research Interventions

  9. APPLICABLE LEGAL FRAMEWORK National Obligations • The Constitution • Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 • Domestic Violence Act, 1998 • Children’s Act, 2005; • Older Persons Act, 2006; • Prevention and Combating Trafficking in Persons Act, 2013, etc. National Policies • National Policy Framework on the Management of Sexual Offences – tabled in Parliament in September 2012 International Obligations • Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime & Abuse of Power (1985) • Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989); • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1995); • The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) • Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2007) • African Charter on the Rights & Welfare of the Child; • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, etc.

  10. LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENT AND AMENDMENTS • (i) Alignment of the NCPR and NRSO • The similarities and difference between the two Registers have necessitated an investigation into the merger by the DoJ&CD and DSD • Reason for the investigation into the merger is to address financial and human resources duplication. The Preliminary Report will be available at end of September 2014. • Enabling Provision for the Designation of Sexual Offences Courts • During the reporting period the DOJ&CD supported a Portfolio Committee Bill to enable the Minister to designate Sexual Offences Courts. • The Judicial Matters Second Amendment Act, 2013 (Act No 43 of 2013) was promulgated on 22 Jul 2013 • Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill • Promotes equality, identify and prevent discrimination • Aims at the elimination of detrimental cultural, economic, religious, traditional practices that are harmful to women

  11. National Instructions and Directives • The National Directives of the NPA could not be published pending the decision of the Constitutional Case of Teddy Bear Clinic v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others CAS 73300/10. • However, the NPA amended their National Directives to align them with the amendment of the Act to insert s56 A that empowers courts impose a sentence in terms of s276 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 where the penalty has not been prescribed. This was in response to the decision of the WC High Court decision in DPP, WC v Prins and Others delivered on 15 June 2012 • DOH amended their National Directives published in 2009 to add Regulations R176 which directs the rendering of forensic medical services.

  12. The reporting Departments/ institutions are expected to provide adequate human capacity at the service points to ensure speedy, specialized and effective service delivery. • The personnel outlined in the table below only identifies specialist officials who provide direct specialised services to victims of sexual offences based on the fact that they have specialized knowledge and skills to enhance the outcomes of the criminal justice process.

  13. Training and Capacity Building • The Act envisions a criminal justice system that is managed by skilled and competent officials and requires effective and efficient investigation, prosecution and adjudication of sexual offences cases. • It expressly requires DoH, NPA and SAPS to develop training courses which must include social context in sexual offences so as to ensure rain officials who will be responsible for its implementation. • Although the Act only stipulates the requirement for training for DOH, SAPS and NPA Officials, all the role-player departments/institutions undertake training to equip the officials to understand and execute the provisions of the Act.

  14. Training and Development

  15. DoJ&CD Public Education and Awareness

  16. DoJ&CD: Public Education and Awareness

  17. Door-to- Door Campaign

  18. Other Depts: Public Education and Awareness

  19. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

  20. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY DoJ&CD: • Integrated Case Management System (ICMS) for NRSO, which keeps records of convicted sex offenders of sexual offences committed against children or victims with mental disability. During this report period 2 792 sex offenders were registered in the system. However, through robust interventions the figure has now increased to 16 072 as at Aug 14. • ICMS for Sexual Offences which tracks down cases from entry point into the court system until the case is finalized. • Integrated Justice System (IJS) Cluster integration, which has succeeded to integrate ICMS and SAPS Crime Administration System (CAS) at 21 courts. The project will be progressively rolled out to all courts. • Closed Circuit TV System: The Dept improved the CCTV into a 2- Way view system to give child witnesses access to the courtroom from the private testifying room

  21. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY • NPA: Thuthuzela Information Management System (TIMS) is used by NPA to collect data at TCC’s. • DSD: Developed: • Monitoring and Evaluation Tools for victims of violent crimes, including sexual offences victims • Monitoring and Evaluation Tool to assess progress in the implementation of the Act; • Generic Indicator Set to provide data relating to the number of victims of violent crimes. This system is being utilized at 36 victim services sites. • Victim Empowerment Information System • SAPS has a data system to collect statistics on sexual offences. Their statistical report is annually presented in Parliament.

  22. DoJ&CD: RESEARCH INTERVENTIONS • Study on the Viability of Using the Cell-phone Game on Sexual Offences to educate adolescents • Research on Management of Intermediaries to determine challenges relating to these services & solution thereof; • Feasibility Study on the Re-establishment of Sexual Offences Courts. Report is available to public. • National Resource Audit in all Regional Courts • Research on the Use of Anatomically Correct Dolls • Specialized Services for Victims of Sexual Offences; • Merger of the National Register for Sex Offenders and the National Child Protection Register • During the reporting time, the LGBTI Intervention strategy against ‘corrective rape’ is in its finalization stage of development. However, now it has been finalized and is in the process of implentation.

  23. DCS: RESEARCH INTERVENTIONS • Study on the Remand, Detainee Offender Management System (RDOMS) intended to replace the current Admission and Release System. This will also enable stakeholders to access information on the released sex offenders. • Conducted an Informative Research-based Profile on sex offenders using data from 1999 to 2009 from the Management Information System (MIS). This system will make information on sex offender readily available. • Established the Draft Victim-Offender Mediation Model. The purpose of the model is to repair the harm caused by the sex offender and to restore relationships between the offender, the victim and the community at large. • DSD & DWCPD: Conducted surveillance study in child protection, AND also a desktop study on violence against children, in collaboration with the DWCPD

  24. LIMITATIONS • The uncoordinated One- Stop Victim Support Services Centres (i.e. TCC’S, Khuseleka One Stop Centres, FCS, etc.) result in the unnecessary duplication of resources. There is a need for a study to investigate the viability of establishing a single and coordinated One Stop Victim Support Services Model that will function to optimize the performance of Sexual Offences Courts; • The process of compiling the Annual Reports is complex and long due to different processes of evidence verification used by the reporting stakeholders. There is therefore a need to review section 65 (3) of the Act either to give stakeholders more time to compile their Annual Reports or require their Ministers to table their Reports directly in Parliament; • The reporting time should be aligned to the PFMA reporting time to ensure that budget allocations are in accordance with the reporting period.

  25. LIMITATIONS • The lack of reliable statistics is exacerbated by the inadequate interconnectivity of information management systems between the various reporting Departments/ institutions; • The Trauma Debriefing Programme should be made available to all stakeholders dealing with cases of sexual violence to minimize or prevent vicarious trauma • Specialization is key when dealing with cases of sexual offences, and should therefore be introduced at all service points within the sexual offences value chain; • There is need for the allocation of dedicated budget for the implementation of the Act by all reporting stakeholders; • There is a need for the development of National Monitoring and Evaluation Tool to determine the efficacy of public education and awareness initiatives. • A study to determine the average time of finalizing a sexual offences case must be conducted.

  26. CONCLUSION • There has been a progressive realisation of the Act in the midst of all the highlighted challenges; • The Annual Sexual Offences Indaba hosted by the NPA continues to strengthen relations and augment collaborations with the civil society; • The National Council on GBV is expected to provide more political leadership in the intervention against sexual offences • The research currently conducted by the IMC on the Root Causes of Violence against Women and Children is expected to assist the sector in determining the cause for the existing bridge between paper law and action • DoJ&CD is in a process of co-opting representations from civil society in the National Intersectoral Committee on Sexual Offences. • The Sexual Offences Courts are expected to radically improve response against sexual violence

  27. THANK YOU

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